Letters to the editor: Voucher proposal would jeopardize public schools

Everyone should take note when Republican stalwarts like Senators Michael Ellis and Luther Olsen state that expanding private school vouchers while flat lining public school funding is a bad idea for northeast Wisconsin's schools. Ellis can reel off the damaging numbers and recite the flaws effortlessly, and they add up to a perfect storm for public schools.

Where private school vouchers have been implemented, they have caused an increase in property taxes because of the need to fund two systems - a public system and a private system.

The voucher program in Milwaukee has largely failed the students it was supposed to help. The program was designed to boost achievement among low income children, but the recent research testing shows that voucher students score below public school students in math and reading. Furthermore, vouchers no longer go to truly needy low income children from under performing schools.

If legislators want to do something about vouchers, they should do some hard work, dig in and fix the program in Milwaukee and Racine instead of expanding a flawed program.

Many families have been attracted to northeast Wisconsin from out of state knowing of its reputation for excellent public schools, as was my family thirteen years ago. Why jeopardize public schools with another year of insufficient funding and an expansion of a faulty private school voucher program that will further undermine school funding?

Senators Ellis and Olsen should be commended for their independence on the voucher issue. They are right; we do not need harmful Milwaukee-style vouchers in northeast Wisconsin. Wisconsin should not subsidize selective private schools at the expense of public schools.

Jackie Nider

Appleton

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Letters to the editor: Voucher proposal would jeopardize public schools

Everyone should take note when Republican stalwarts like Senators Michael Ellis and Luther Olsen state that expanding private school vouchers while flat lining public school funding is a bad idea for

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